The present invention relates to bath tubs, shower enclosures and the like which are provided with vibroacoustic transducers to project music and/or other sounds into the fixture. More particularly, it relates to an assembly for connecting such transducers while also magnetically shielding occupant's of the fixtures from magnetic fields generated by the transducers.
For experiential, therapeutic and other reasons it is desirable to project music, non-rhythmic sounds and/or other vibrations into bath tubs and other plumbing fixtures. However, it is desirable to place the vibration generation systems outside of the fixture to avoid contact between electrical devices and water, and to provide a cleaner and more elegant appearance.
One approach to achieve this is to place an electromagnetic transducer outside the fixture, against the fixture's exterior wall. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,585,991 and 6,523,191, DE 199,02,875 and EP 651987.
However, such transducers typically generate a magnetic field when operated in a manner that yields sufficient vibrations. The magnetic field produced by such a transducer may create interference with certain electronic devices used by a bather (such as a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator), or possibly certain electronic devices located in the bathroom near the fixture.
Resolving this concern can be problematic. For example, some proposed solutions to do so would interfere with the ability to remove and replace transducers from time to time during the life of the plumbing fixture. Other proposed solutions would interfere with the ability of the transducer to effectively transmit vibrations to and then through the tub wall.
As a result, a need exists for an improved transducer assembly that provides the desired vibrations to the plumbing fixture, but does not expose fixture occupants to undesirable magnetic fields.